Disney: Bolt the movie - A review

Bolt the movie was the first 3D animation by Disney, produced under new head John Lasseter, it is a wonderful and fast paced family entertainment. Directed by newcomers Byron Howard and Chris Williams. The film is about the title character Bolt, voiced by John Travolta, a small white German Shepherd. He has spent his entire life playing a superdog and has only experienced life on a film-set. Due to this Bolt thinks that his superpowers, and the events in the film; are real. When he is accidentally sent from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he sets out on a cross-country journey to reunite with his owner, Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus). Along the way, Bolt teams up with a world-weary housecat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman) and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino (voiced by Mark Walton) who also happens to be an extreme Bolt fan, which seems to love his ball ;) and eventually he discovers that he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero! If you have yet to watch Disney Bolt the Movie then do it today

The opening of the Movie beautifully establishes the TV show's fictional world, the one Bolt thinks is real, with a action packed ten-minute sequence straight out of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Bolt, with his super-speed, and Penny, riding her sweet scooter, escapes from helicopters, motorcyclists, and a ticking time bomb, while speeding along an extremely busy freeway. There is an energetic and engaging feel to the whole scene, especially when the occasional slow motion shot lets you see exactly how much time is left before the bomb explodes. This opening does such a good job of setting the fun and snappy tone for the rest of this wonderful Disney movie.

The rest of the movie works far better than you would expect due to the fact audiences' are so familiar with stories like Bolt's. This is probably due to part to Lasseter's filmmaker first approach to storytelling. There's a concrete cohesion to both the characters and plot that is so much better than its predecessors; where in other recent Disney animated films, sequences occurred just because of a need for visual action or merely some sort of set piece. In Bolt all of the little details and scenes are part of the whole movie and are vital for the progression of the plot. For example, Bolt's powers in the TV series come back in more modest but in a more emotionally form once he comes to terms with being an ordinary dog, which provides both an entertaining reference to earlier scenes and a connection between themes and his different lives.

This Disney movie is perfect for young and older children, and doesn’t skimp on the adult jokes as well. This movie can be enjoyed by all the family no matter what the age. It is a movie I highly recommend and cannot be watched enough. There is also a chance to watch this movie in 3D which brings a whole new dimension to movie watching and an opportunity you should not pass up.